Quotations & proforma
“I sent the quote on Monday. Did they even open it?” A quotation is a price you propose. In BizOS it is built with the same fast line editor as an invoice, sent as a branded link on WhatsApp, tracked to accepted, declined or expired, and then turned into a sales order, a job or an invoice without retyping a line.
The list
Filter by status and search by number, customer or phone. Each row shows the value, the status and the age, so a quote that has sat in Sent for two weeks is obvious.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Still being built, freely editable, never shared |
| Sent | With the customer, awaiting a decision |
| Accepted | The customer said yes |
| Rejected | The customer declined, with a reason if they gave one |
| Expired | Past its validity date without an answer |
Building a quote
Pick the customer, add lines, save. Lines come from your item catalogue, priced from the customer’s price level, or as free text for anything not in stock. Each line takes a quantity, a rate, a tax rate and an optional discount as a percentage or a flat ₹ amount, one or the other. An order-level discount reduces the taxable value proportionally so the GST stays right.
- Rates including GST. With Type rates including GST on (the default for a registered business), you type the price agreed with the customer. See GST billing.
- Measurements. Items sold by size (sq ft, running feet) work their quantity out from length and breadth; a tailor’s sizes are recorded and printed. See Measurements.
- Price level for this quote. The price level picker in the Items header re-prices every catalogue line from a different level than the customer’s, for this quote only. It replaces the customer’s level rather than adding to it, leaves hand-typed rates alone, and carries into the invoice when the quote is converted. Owners, Admins and Managers can set it.
- Branch. With branches, pick the branch on a new quote; everything made from the quote stays at that branch.
- Line photos. If your items have photos, the quote can show them, which helps when a customer is choosing between fittings.
The quotation date defaults to today and can be changed. Validity (7 days out of the box), the note on every quote and an optional terms page come from Settings → Selling → Invoices & quotes. The look comes from the Quotation template in Document design.
Quote the same thing often? Save a template
A line-item template stores a named set of lines, such as “3 BHK wiring package” or “annual RO service”, with its notes and discount. Applying it fills a new quote or invoice, and catalogue lines re-price for that customer, so a template never carries a stale price.
Quotes can be built fast too: three editor layouts, a full keyboard map, and offline creation. See Speed & offline billing.
Sending it
Sending shares a branded, no-login link on WhatsApp. The customer opens it on their phone and sees the quote as your business, with your logo, colours and terms. A draft is never shared.
From that page they can accept or decline (with a reason). Both write straight back into BizOS: the status changes, the timeline records it, and any workflow built on quotation accepted or rejected runs.
View tracking shows when they first opened it, when they last looked, and how many times. Three views and no answer is a different phone call from zero views.
Proforma invoices
Some business customers cannot raise a purchase order against a “quote”; they need a numbered proforma invoice to file.
In BizOS a proforma is issued from the quotation, once it is sent or
accepted, not made as a separate document. It takes the next number from its
own series (PI- by default) when issued and keeps it. It always prints your
bank details, because a proforma exists to collect an advance, and it creates
no receivable and no GST liability. When the deal closes, the real
invoice or sales order takes over.
How do I require approval for big quotes?
- 1
Open the setting
Go to Settings, Selling, Invoices & quotes and switch on Big quotes need approval. It is off by default, and only the Owner or an Admin can change it.
- 2
Set the limit
Type the amount in At or above (₹). A quote at or above this total, made by someone whose role cannot approve quotes (Office staff among the fixed roles), waits for approval. Set 0 to hold every such quote.
- 3
Staff send as usual
When a member who cannot approve sends a quote over the limit, it is held as Awaiting approval instead of going to the customer, and the approvers are notified.
- 4
An approver decides
An Owner, Admin or Manager approves or rejects it. The person who made the quote is told the decision. Quotes made by approvers are never held.
- Editing the lines, the total or the price level after approval resets it to pending, so an approval cannot be won on a small quote and reused on a big one.
- The hold covers sending, WhatsApp re-send and share links.
- Quotation approval requested is a workflow trigger, so you can also send the approver a WhatsApp message the moment a quote needs them.
Converting a quote
To a sales order
With sales orders on, an accepted quote shows Convert to sales order. Advances, deliveries and bills in parts then go through the order, and the quote is billed only through it.
To an invoice
Lines, price level and custom fields carry over. An accepted price survives becoming an invoice: BizOS does not re-price it.
To a job
Turn the accepted scope into scheduled work; the job keeps a link back to the quote, and the invoice can bill from the job’s lines.
Who can do what
| Role | Quotations |
|---|---|
| Owner, Admin | Everything, including the approval setting |
| Manager | Create, edit, send, approve or reject, delete, convert, proforma, pin a price level |
| Office staff | Create, edit, send, proforma, convert to invoice or job; big quotes wait for approval; cannot approve, delete a sent quote or pin a price level |
| Accountant | View only: list, detail and PDFs |
| Field technician | No quotations list |
See Roles & permissions.
Common questions
- Can my customer accept a quotation online?
- Yes. A BizOS quote is shared as a branded link that needs no login and no app. The customer can accept or decline with a reason, and BizOS updates the status and runs any workflow built on that event.
- How do I know if the customer opened my quote?
- BizOS records when the quotation link was first opened, when it was last opened, and how many times, and shows it on the quote.
- What is a proforma invoice and when should I use it?
- A proforma is a numbered pre-sale document a business buyer can file against a purchase order or use to release an advance. In BizOS it is issued from a sent or accepted quotation with its own number series; it creates no receivable and no GST liability.
- Can I stop staff sending large quotes without my approval?
- Yes. In BizOS, switch on Big quotes need approval and set an amount. A quote at or above it from someone who cannot approve, such as Office staff, is held until an Owner, Admin or Manager approves it, and editing the amount afterwards resets the approval.
- Why does my quote say ESTIMATE instead of QUOTATION?
- BizOS titles a quote ESTIMATE when the business is not GST-registered, and QUOTATION when it is. GST follows the business's registration; there is no per-quote GST switch. You can also type your own title in Document design.
- Does converting a quote to an invoice change the prices?
- No. In BizOS an accepted price survives conversion untouched, even if the catalogue price has changed since. The quote's price level carries into the invoice too.
- Can I turn a quote into a sales order?
- Yes, when the business uses sales orders. An accepted BizOS quote shows Convert to sales order, which makes an order with the accepted prices at the quote's branch. Advances and bills in parts then go through the order.
- Can I reuse a standard scope of work?
- Yes. Save it as a line-item template in BizOS. Applying it fills a new quote or invoice with those lines, and catalogue lines re-price for the chosen customer so the template never carries a stale price.